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by Savorysavery



Series: With Our Path We Shall Persevere: Stories of Bonding [1]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Bonding, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Female Friendship, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-29
Updated: 2014-11-29
Packaged: 2018-02-27 11:35:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2691446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Savorysavery/pseuds/Savorysavery
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An alternative look at a Korra who can only connect with Avatar Kyoshi through her spiritual connection. Set in the interim between Book 3 and 4 when Korra is on her own.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Return

**Summary:** Korra asks for help from the only person

 **Genre:** Hurt/Comfort, Friendship

 **Rated:** K

 

* * *

 

 

"I can’t go back!" Korra was wrapped up in swathes of blankets on a futon: Kyoshi’s futon to be more precise, in her home in the Spirit Realm. "I’m too weak and-and I’ll just mess up!" 

"I understand," Kyoshi intoned, patting Korra’s leg gently. She truly did: Kyoshi had not-so-fond memories of being a young upstart, and often times found herself reflecting on the nearly two and a half centuries of her life. "I know the feeling in your heart, Korra. Truly, I do."

"I’m just… The metal in my body  _hurts_ , and I can barely stomach food that I  _like_ , and now… Now the world’s in peril and I can barely do  _anything_.” Thought Korra’s words sounded like whiny -and truly, in another life, Kyoshi would have cut off her complaints- Kyoshi understood her tears in the moment and the pain in Korra’s aching heart. 

Korra coughed hard, alternating between sniffling gasps and full on sobs. She tucked herself deeper into the covers, trying hard to disappear. She knew she was pitiful, or at least she suspected she looked pitiful. “I just… Kyoshi, what do I  _do?_ " she asked, peering out from beneath the blankets. Even here, her blue eyes were bloodshot, veins of ruby threaded across her sclera.

"Korra, allow me to tell you a story," Kyoshi began, turning her face towards the setting sun. She didn’t bear her typical make-up, leaving her face honey-toned, and revealing soft, brown lips and dark brown eyebrows. It made her look less intense, and in that moment, Korra felt like she was truly talking to a friend.

"Okay," Korra whispered. Kyoshi nodded curtly, a hint of a smile rising to her lips.

"I was once your age- an upstart too, always trying to do what  _I_ thought was forthright and honorable. Yet, I always tried for others, and rarely for  _myself_.” Kyoshi exhaled deeply, tapping her fingers on her leg. “I was always for the justice of the people, and never for myself, and that cost me greatly. So much so that when I had my daughter Koko, I mistreated her and was never the mother she  _needed,_ all because I wouldn’t give myself what  _I_  needed.” She paused, and cleared her throat, sighing. “So much so that my daughter grew to resent me, even though I thought that by leaving her a powerful lineage, she’d instantly  _love_  me.”

Korra nodded, letting Kyoshi’s words sink in. When she looked up at the warrior woman, a tear was rolling down her cheek. “No matter what occurs in your lifetime, you must continue on, Korra. Life as the Avatar is  _always_  unfair, yet it is a splendid existence, one that you can do great things with. Never waste it, and do not let bad things break your spirit. Though we are this world’s guardian, we are also human and deserve to reward ourself with life’s riches.”

Korra sat up all the way, and wiped her hand on the back of her nose. “I… I understand,” she said, voice a bit stronger. “I think I know what to do.” She pushed off the covers and clambered to her feet. “Kyoshi, I need to go.” 

"The world  _does_  need you.” Kyoshi smirked and stood up in one smooth motion, rising to her full height. “Go, Korra, and prove your worth not to  _them_ , but to  _yourself_.”


End file.
